2) “It’s Never Too Late for Now!” is my new catchphrase. Thanks, Liz Lemon.

3) I think The Office had to go through the sorta-painful, not-as-funny moments in the last couple of years to get us to this new place where it’s just better than ever. Earned hilarity. Tonight’s episode, where Michael Scarn’s film has finally come to fruition, it’s just absolutely perfect.

4) Kale and The Daily Show have more in common than the fact that they sorta rhyme. (They do!) Observe:

First, kale. This leafy green is my new mealtime jam. It’s super healthy, super yummy, and, yes, gives me super-vegetarian cred.
I was prompted to buy it because I’m reading Alicia Silverstone’s book, The Kind Diet. It’s a vegan cookbook / book book about where food comes from, what food does to our bodies, and how to love grains & greens. “Kind” means kind to animals, of course, but also kind to the earth and, as a bonus, to yourself.
While at times it feels like I’m reading a book written by Cher from Clueless (she says “awesome” and “cool” more often than might be necessary), it’s an interesting read. And it brought me to kale. Alicia says eating a plant-based diet is like eating sunshine. I thought about that as I rinsed my kale tonight and as foo-foo as it sounds, I believe it.

Being vegan is so awesome.

It’s not like eating meat and processed food is eating darkness, but remember the pollution monster from Fern Gully? I imagine it’s sorta like that. Doesn’t it make sense that natural close-to-the-earth food is better for you? I know “good for you” smacks of eating peas and brushing your teeth–unfun things. But I mean it in the mmmmmmmmmmmm good sort of way. I’ve been vegetarian for almost a year, and dabbling in being vegan-ish for about a month, and I can tell a difference in how I feel.
Eating Sunshine.

Second, The Daily Show:
Today’s convocation speaker at Drury was Frederick Lane, an author, lawyer and privacy expert…who has also been on The Daily Show. I could write a 2-page paper on his talk (would’ve had to as a freshman) but instead I’ll cut to the chase: my degrees of separation from Jon Stewart has now shrunk to ONE. This cannot be overstated. It’s silly, I know, but I got a little energy from being in the same room with an author who’s been to the comedy Promised Land.

I went to the post-talk lunch and had the chance to ask him more about the show. I could tell it was a cloud-nine experience for him, too.
He described the shock and awe of getting the email from his agent with the subject line: “The Daily Show!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
The nondescript warehouse in Hell’s Kitchen where they film.
Walking through the unglamorous writers room on the way to the stage. (I imagine a conference table, a coffee machine and some white boards. Still sounds like Graceland to me.)
Jon Stewart’s intelligence and ability to talk about anything. And his stature. I’ve heard before that he’s not a tall guy. It’s funny, if you google “jon stewart height” the top result tells you in bold typeface 5’7″. He seems so larger-than-life that it’s hard to imagine him being a person with physical limits. Wish to hug him even more now.

And so kale and The Daily Show helped me have a good day.
Learning feels good. Eating well feels good.
Recognizing that feels good. Writing about it feels good.